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Considering a Mac, some questions.

D

doox00

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 10, 2006
130
0
I am considering purchasing a Mac, I currently have a very nice pc I built, I do alot of gaming on my PC.

Intel Core i7 oc'd 4ghz
6GB Ram
2 nvidia gtx 260's in SLI
Soundblaster Xtrememusic sound card

The system is water cooled (cpu/gpu's)

I use a 42" 1080p LCD on my desk as the monitor.


I know you can run windows on the new Mac, how well does windows run on these? Just like a typical pc? I will have no problems with drivers and so on? Which Mac would you recommend? I think a Pro is out of the question, the prices are just mind blowing imo. I could build a monster pc for those prices.. actually a couple of em.

Why do I want to get a Mac? I dunno really.. something new.. want to play eqmac is one reason, want to mess with Mac os and knowing I can run windows dual boot on it is also a big plus.. can get best of both worlds. I Just want to be sure windows on a Mac runs smoothly without issue.

Which Mac would you recommend? Good gaming performance is very important to me.

Thanks all

wc.jpg


wc6.jpg
 
Windows through Boot Camp will run exactly like it would on a PC with those specs. I would say they iMac if you want to do some gaming, or maybe a Mac Mini if you don't.
 
Sambo110 said:
Windows through Boot Camp will run exactly like it would on a PC with those specs. I would say they iMac if you want to do some gaming, or maybe a Mac Mini if you don't.
Click to expand...

I see the mac mini has a 9400m graphics card.. how is the performance of this card anyone know? I understand its not great.. but perhaps good enough to run eqmac very well? I could just plug it into my 42" screen via hdmi and keep my current pc along side of it.
 
I would recommend not buying a Mac.

They run Windows fine but you wont get the same video performance you are getting now from any other model besides the MacPro.

If you want to have a play around with OSX just go take a look over at InsanelyMac and do run it on your PC.

Really, you do not sound like a person who would benefit from a Mac so save yourself the hassle.


EDIT: If you keeping your PC for gaming then just get a Macbook or Macmini :)
 
Windows runs flawlessly with the Boot Camp drivers. it will run just like a PC with similar specs.

the 9400m is discrete graphics and has about the same performance as the radeon x1600 dedicated graphics chip.
 
It's alot like running Windows on an Intel based computer....oh wait.

In fact Vista x64 runs better on my Macbook Pro than it does a much beefier HP laptop I have.

Based on what you've told us the only iMac you want and would be most happy with is the 3.06 GHz model with the ATi HD 4850. Yep you could still build an uber PC or two! :D
 
itommyboy said:
It's alot like running Windows on an Intel based computer....oh wait.

In fact Vista x64 runs better on my Macbook Pro than it does a much beefier HP laptop I have.

Based on what you've told us the only iMac you want and would be most happy with is the 3.06 GHz model with the ATi HD 4850. Yep you could still build an uber PC or two! :D
Click to expand...


Sounds like I should just stick with the pc, although I would buy the mac mini in a second if I knew the 9400m would run eqmac well.. have to do some searching and see what I can find. I have an 8400m in my laptop, it runs normal eq just ok overall.
 
if it runs on your 8400m im sure it will run on the 9400m. from googling EQmac games they dont look very graphics intensive and the integrated graphics should handle it fine on modest resolutions; might not play smoothly over 1680x1050.

i would say just get a Mac Mini, iMac or MacBook for the experience and then just game on your PC.
 
Nice system, you know what you're doing, by saying that, I would keep your system, buy a copy of Mac OSX, and run OSX86 on your rig. You basically have a mac pro already.
 
bry223 said:
Nice system, you know what you're doing, by saying that, I would keep your system, buy a copy of Mac OSX, and run OSX86 on your rig. You basically have a mac pro already.
Click to expand...

I will look into it.. I have heard about it just have not looked into what all is involved in getting it to run.
 
SLI and the Soundblaster card wont work in OS X. will have to use onboard sound. some other parts like ethernet and SATA ports mat not work because of the nforce chipset. but probably will in 10.5.7 as the new Macs have the nvidia chipset.
 
If I were in your shoes I would get a refurb iMac or Macbook if you want to tool around. To get the specs you need on a Mac for a decent gaming rig it will cost you much more than for what you could build an equivalent PC. As others have stated Windows will run fine on any new Mac, but gaming is a different story. If you want to game you need to go high end Mac, which is where price becomes an issue. In your case a lap top may be perfect. You would then have a powerhouse and ultimate mobility.
 
richthomas said:
SLI and the Soundblaster card wont work in OS X. will have to use onboard sound. some other parts like ethernet and SATA ports mat not work because of the nforce chipset. but probably will in 10.5.7 as the new Macs have the nvidia chipset.
Click to expand...

I have an intel x58 chipset motherboard. Asus P6T Deluxe
 
Is this a joke post? I mean, with those specs on your nice rig (I wanted pics of the screen too! lol), I don't think any Mac would please you. If all you want is to fool around, get the mac mini and only use it to fool around. It would work nice on your screen too, with some monoprice adapter.

To me 900$ to fool around is a bit costly, I would buy some beers and just watch TV and save about 890$.
 
UrFatMom said:
Is this a joke post? I mean, with those specs on your nice rig (I wanted pics of the screen too! lol), I don't think any Mac would please you. If all you want is to fool around, get the mac mini and only use it to fool around. It would work nice on your screen too, with some monoprice adapter.

To me 900$ to fool around is a bit costly, I would buy some beers and just watch TV and save about 890$.
Click to expand...

lol, thinking a new model mac mini or a g5 of some flavor may be good in addition to my pc.
 
For just messing around, get a mini...

If you find you really like OSX, then perhaps invest in an iMac or something. Particularly with that monster PC.
 
I run Windows XP and some Games in Boot Camp like

COD4 and COD5
Halo
WOW
Spore


I have the New 2.0Ghz Mini with 4 GB Ram and a 320GB 7200 RPM drive, it all works fine, however it is not a Gaming Rig.


Are you Sure the Nuclear Energy Plant can handle what you have in that Windows Rig, Geez that is one monster Rig. The new Mini is very energy efficient, so your electric bill should go down :rolleyes:
 
doox00,

That's a great rig. I was looking to build a gaming PC myself on Newegg but I'm intimidated by the whole process, I can install RAM or video card etc, but I've never actually built one from scratch.

Would you say buying an Alienware for instance is a gross waste of funds? I will build or buy a monster gaming PC at some point but for now I have a great laptop and have ordered an I-Mac 24''.
 
Beautiful rig, friend. I suggest buying a mac laptop for stability no matter where you are. There is not a mac that will handle games like the rig you're showing us. That being said, depending on which mac you buy, they can be very capable of running games with decent settings.
 
@ doox

just like you i got curious about os-x last december and i bought a used imac off of craigslist for quite cheap.. it was in good condition and it still had warranty left..

i had never tried os-x but i totally loved it bro.. it's an excellent experience.. it just works together so smoothly.. it's a whole new experience and don't pass it up..

you should buy like a refurb, and if you hate it (i don't think you will) you can prolly sell it for around the same price on craigslist..

i just bought a 24" imac 2.8 refurb it's awesome.. i installed a 1tb caviar black and some ram and if i put it on craigslist i would probably make some money off of it.. but i'm just gonna keep it..

either way, keep us posted on what you choose..
 
I think you will like the easy to use(and very stylish) Mac OS X Leopard if you were to buy a Mac. I'm not too sure that you will like the performance of games in Boot Camp compared to what you are used to with that super duper rig.

Like others have said I would consider buying a Mac Mini(now that you have the big screen)to get the feel of OS X if you really want to try it on hardware that is meant to run the OS. And keep the PC if gaming is really your thing.
 
thanks for all the suggestions, I am leaving towards a mac mini I think to start off with.

24usedtorock, if you can install a video card and ram than building the pc itself is not much more of a task, screw in the motherboard, put in the cpu, ram, video cards etc, power supply, run all the cables and so on. It not hard to do and forums like hardforum.com are a great resource for asking questions. Yes, buying an alienware is a huge waste of money, there are other brands out there that would be a better choice for prebuilt, sign in to hardforum.com and start asking questions.
 
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